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Articles

Consuming And Producing Culture

Dzifa Benson compares being a producer with being a consumer of pop culture.

“We weren’t philosophers, we were perverts” – Howard Stern, Private Parts.

Living in 21st Century London, I find that popular culture plays a not-insubstantial part in my life. But being a poet, writer and performer, this presents me with something of a problem. How do I square myself as a consumer of pop culture with myself as a producer of art? I am an unapologetic consumer, but I also produce a kind of culture that will ultimately reflect back at me. Can the consumption of pop culture corrupt ‘high’ art, and therefore spoil whatever ‘true’ culture I may aspire to in my writing?

High and Low

What is popular culture anyway? Well first, what is culture? Generally, it is a collection of artifacts and behaviours stemming from and conveying knowledge or belief.

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